BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: 22 October 2002

FLOWER DRUM SONG

Following a critically acclaimed sell-out run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, Rodgers and Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG, starring Lea Salonga, has beaten a path to the Virginia Theatre for its first Broadway revival. Along with OKLAHOMA! and THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, FLOWER DRUM SONG brings to three the total of Legit launchings in celebration of Richard Rodgers' centennial year.

FLOWER DRUM SONG first blossomed in1958 to mixed notices. Considered to be one of the composers' lesser works, FLOWER DRUM still offers a fine score including such standards as "A Hundred Million Miracles" and "I Enjoy Being a Girl." Adapted from the C. Y. Lee novel, Hammerstein and Joseph Fields' book is most widely seen as the show's shortcoming, sounding a dull note with its stereotypical Asian sketches.

This time out, the book has been overhauled by playwright David Henry Hwang, the Tony-winning author of M. BUTTERFLY. Working closely with Lee's original concepts, Hwang has revamped the story in order to appeal to more modern sensibilities. For example, Mei-Li, the modest and unassuming heroine, is no longer the pie-eyed mail-order bride, fresh off the boat in San Francisco. Now, she's a refugee from Red China who fled her homeland after the Maoists killed her father.

Hwang's book explores the difficulties facing the Asian population as it struggles with the culture-clash and the generation gap. Upon arriving to these shores, Mei-Li joins a traditional Chinese opera company run by Wang, an old friend of her father. His son, Ta, wants to spice up the act with a bit of flash and flesh in hopes of attracting a more mainstream audience. Ta's infatuation with Linda Low, a showgirl of Eastern origins and Western tastes, only adds to the strife between father and son.

Meanwhile, Mei-Li falls for the handsome young Ta, but he has little interest in such a provincial young girl. Linda Low, who has sworn off Asian men, works to promote a little romance with the "Americanization" of Mei-Li. The ploy backfires and Mei-Li leaves the opera company to return to Asia with Chao, a disheartened fellow emigre.

The plight of immigrant women in our progressive society is a theme which resonates throughout FLOWER DRUM SONG. With references to foot binding and female subservience, Hwang contrasts the role of the fairer sex in the two cultures. His women, however, seem to regard emancipation as the freedom to bear their skin, the right to objectification. Also, his take on the gay character, Harvard, is glaringly broad. The big-swish routine worked with Carmen Ghia in THE PRODUCERS, but here it comes off as a shallow caricature in a show that aims to debunk stereotypes.

Lea Salonga, Tony-winner of MISS SAIGON fame, does her best with a relatively diminutive role. Her Mei-Li is undoubtedly sweet, but she's not very colorful, especially next to the other girls. Sandra Allen's Linda Low has all the spark of a Chinese New Year's firecracker as she amply demonstrates in her "Fan Tan Fannie" number. Jodi Long as Madame Liang, the aggressive booking agent, beats out most of the show's best lines. "When people think of Chinatown, they think of opium dens and questionable cuts of meat."

Jose Llana does an able job balancing Ta's strong and weak points. He's not necessarily the most likable guy, yet Llana manages to bring out his charm. Randall Duk Kim as Wang provides a stock, broad, disapproving father who gets bitten by the show biz bug. Allen Liu's Harvard is all too convincingly gay. And, Hoon Lee as Chao presents a sympathetic, disenchanted figure who feels shut out of the American Dream.

Robert Longbottom, who brought us Broadway's ambitious SIDE SHOW some five years ago, directs and choreographs with lots of shimmer and pizzazz. The simple pagoda-styled set by Robin Wagner is beautifully executed and costumes by Gregg Barnes are spectacular. This is a high energy production with lots of heart. FLOWER DRUM SONG, a colorful close to a century of Richard Rodgers.